Different
by EllieGymGirl2
Summary: Gray Fullbuster, a high school senior who doesn't care about most people or about what they may think of him, is in for a big surprise when a new student by the name of Natsu Dragneel arrives. Pairing: Gratsu (maybe with a little Loke X Lucy and Jellal X Erza in later chapters, but I am not sure yet)


**As a fair warning, I feel some of the characters may be a little OOC. I tried my best to incorporate their personality traits but some of them just had to be portrayed differently because of the story. Anyways, I got the general idea for this story from O.o. Belt.O.o.O and her story 'Hidden Flames of Emerald.' This story is rated T because of some language.**

"Have you guys heard? We are getting a new student today." A pretty blonde girl named Lucy Heartfilia commented to her two friends, Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet.

Erza looked surprised and excited from the news. "We are? Do you know who the student is?" She questioned enthusiastically, a total change from her usual cold and scary demeanor. Gray simply sighed and rested his head on his hand. Honestly, he didn't care if there was going to be a new student.

Lucy shook her head. "I don't, but I heard Professor Makarov talking about it when I walked past the teacher's lounge." Gray rolled his eyes as Lucy began happily hopping up and down in her seat. "We have been going to the same school for at least six years and have only gotten one other new student." They all then turned towards Lisanna, who had been the new student about a year ago, transferring from a school down the road a ways to be with her siblings at this school.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Gray said in a dull voice, receiving incredulous looks from both women sitting around him. Lucy didn't speak, but instead pointed behind Gray at an empty desk. He shot her a look, as if to say 'So?' and she frowned.

"Look around the classroom." Erza explained, and Gray did as he was told. "Do you see any other empty desks?" The redheaded girl was right. This was the only open desk in the entire classroom. "Since this is the only desk available, the new student will have to sit here."

Lucy resumed giddily smiling and drummed her fingers on Gray's desk, which was next to hers. Erza took out a book she was reading and settled into her chair. Honestly, Gray could already tell this new student was going to be a pain. He hated having to deal with all the idiots this school already had to offer and now there would be one more. And to make it worse, the new idiot would be sitting at the desk behind Gray. Though it made him smirk evilly, considering the desk was also next to the terrifying Erza Scarlet.

Three chimes sounded through the speakers of the school, signaling that class would now start. Erza put her book away while Gray and Lucy turned to face the front of the classroom. Shortly after the bell, their teacher (Professor Makarov) walked into the classroom with a cup of coffee held in his hand. He set the drink on his desk and hoisted himself into his chair, the process being difficult because of his small size. Gray remembered the first day off school when Makarov walked into the classroom. All the students had smirked and picked fun at the short teacher, who then showed his authority by tossing a stapler at one of the kid's heads. Nobody mocked him after that, and besides, most everyone was just used to it by now.

"Good morning class." He spoke in a tired voice. "Before we begin, I would like to welcome a new student." Immediately after he said this the class broke out in whispers and predictions of who it could be. Out of the corner of his eye, Gray could see Lucy excitedly smile to herself and continue tapping her fingers silently on the desk. "Alright, alright, calm down now. His name is Natsu Dragneel, and I presume he will be here soon. He had to fill out some papers in the office."

As soon as he finished his sentence, in walked the new student, Natsu. Even though Gray had expressed obvious distaste just moments before he found himself suddenly interested by this new kid who walked directly to the side of Makarov's desk.

"Professor, the office would like to speak to you about some paper work." Natsu spoke, his voice smooth yet, not smooth at all. Gray found himself baffled and intrigued when he could not pin point one specific adjective to describe it. But that is not what surprised him the most about this new student, not at all.

Natsu wore the normal school uniform, trousers and a white button up shirt with a red tie tied loosely around his neck. He was very lean but Gray could tell that he was still pretty muscular. Tan skin was exposed from where he had the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. Gray raised his eyes to the new students face to examine it closer. His skin was clear, though his nose was a little crooked. Gray figured he had broken it a couple times before. Natsu's eyes were a startling shade a dark green that he could see even from the back of the classroom.

But here is the most startling part; the new kid's hair color: Pink. A bright salmon color that looked soft and was cut a medium length with a couple strands falling over his forehead. Gray had to hold himself back from actually laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.

The class's whispers only seemed to get more intense, the guys commenting on different aspects of his appearance (mostly his hair) and the girls tittering happily. Gray had to admit, Natsu wasn't bad looking at all, though his eyes were squinty. And his hair of course.

"Oh ok," Makarov got out of his seat and headed to the door, leaving a lost looking Natsu at the front of the classroom. Luckily for him, Makarov stopped before he left and pointed to the empty desk in the back of the classroom behind Gray. "you can sit there." Natsu nodded and Makarov left.

All eyes were on the new student as he leisurely walked to the desk. He didn't seem to care that everyone in the entire class was looking at him. When he passed by Lucy, she shot Gray looked that expressed how shocked but also happy she was. Gray smirked at her and both students turned around to watch as Natsu sat down.

As the class finally calmed from the excitement and resumed speaking with one another, Lucy broke the silence of their little group. "Hi Natsu, it's so nice to meet you, I'm Lucy. We rarely get new students." Natsu turned towards Lucy and offered a small smile.

"I can tell; nobody even tried to hide that they were staring and judging me." He joked, eliciting a laugh from Lucy and a smile from Erza.

Gray simply rested his arms on the back of his chair and let loose on what he was thinking. "Why wouldn't they judge you, your hair is pink." Natsu looked taken aback which only caused Gray's amusement to grow. "Why on earth would you dye it that color?"

"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed, and he could feel a glare coming from Erza at his obvious rudeness to someone he doesn't even know. Natsu's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's natural." Natsu said simply, waiting for a response. Gray was taken aback greatly, as were Lucy and Erza, though Gray didn't believe it. "I know you don't believe me, and I honestly don't care." Natsu interrupted as Gray opened his mouth to speak.

With nothing else to say, Gray decided to poke more fun at the pink haired and see how he would react. "You're right squinty eyes, I don't."

Natsu slammed his hands on the desk, now letting his anger show. "Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Lucy squealed and Erza placed a cautious hand on Natsu's arm.

"I apologize for him Natsu; he doesn't really have a filter for what he says. He just kind of says what is on his mind." The redhead then turned glaring brown eyes to Gray. "I promise, he will be punished." After she said that Natsu looked a little creeped out, but let his arms fall back to his sides as he calmed down. Gray knew he should be quite scared of what Erza meant by 'punish' but instead he found himself staring at Natsu. There were some small freckles dotting his nose that Gray hadn't noticed earlier.

"Anyways, that is Gray. And as Erza said, he can be very rude. I'm sorry about that." She shot Gray a glare alongside Erza. "And as you may now know, that is Erza. Welcome to this school."

Natsu chuckled, and Gray noticed a small dimple at the corner of his left eye. "Thank you, and you don't need to apologize, I have dealt with many assholes." Lucy's eyes widened and a small giggled escaped her lips, now giving Gray a reason to glare at her.

"If you need help with anything, you can come to us." Erza assured him just as Makarov walked back into the classroom, climbing back up onto his chair. The conversations in the class died down as everyone turned to face the front. But Gray continued to look at Natsu, who noticed and gave him a weird look.

"What?" He hissed, and Gray didn't respond. He simply smirked and turned to face the front of the classroom. He heard an annoyed huff from behind and found himself actually interested in something for once.

After three long hours of science and history, the bell rang for lunch. Makarov left the classroom to go back to the teacher's lounge and the group of friends found themselves staying in the classroom to eat lunch with the new student. Gray had his chair turned around and was eating his lunch on Natsu's desk, just as Lucy was doing on Erza's. Natsu didn't have a lunch.

"Why did you not bring anything?" Lucy asked as she ate a small salad in a container that she bought from some restaurant. Erza ate some chips and a sandwich, where Gray had a sandwich with a water bottle and some fruit in a bag.

Natsu pulled his legs up so he was sitting cross legged on the chair. "Well, it's kind of a long story. But it ends with the fact that I don't have any food in my new apartment, nor money."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" Lucy seemed genuinely concerned and so did Erza, both girls looking at him worriedly. "Do you have a job?"

"He just moved here Lucy, I doubt he does." Gray said, seemingly exasperated. Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

Natsu shook his head. "I don't. Actually, I just finished moving into my apartment this morning. I haven't really had time."

"Did you move here alone, or with your parents?" Erza asked, and Gray curiously looked to Natsu for an answer while taking a bite from his sandwich.

"Alone." Natsu didn't explain, only simply stated a fact as he rested his arms on the desk. But even that one word, though spoken calmly and emotionlessly, held sorrow and therefore nobody questioned him.

For the first time in a while, the silence between the friends became a little uncomfortable. "I live alone too, who cares." Gray spoke offhandedly, but Natsu shot him a thankful look for redirecting the conversation. Gray found himself immediately opening up more to the new student and felt a sudden warmth rush through his body. So far Gray had only seen one side of Natsu, and now that he saw another one, a deeper part, it made him feel like they knew each other better. Though what Gray couldn't figure out was why he cared if him and Natsu knew each other well.

Lucy and Erza then began talking about how they live alone and where their parents are, what they are doing, and in Erza's case, the fact that she doesn't know where her parents are. During the commotion, Gray slid his bag of fruit in Natsu's direction and made eye contact with the pink haired.

Natsu raided a salmon colored eye brow and Gray shrugged in response. He looked unsure of whether Gray was being serious, so his hand cautiously hovered over the bad for a couple of seconds before finally taking one when Gray didn't do anything. Natsu took a bite of the fruit and seemed skeptical once again. "It's not poisoned you freak." Gray shot, annoyed that the boy in front of him was being so obnoxiously careful.

"I just thought you didn't like me, so therefore I'm curious as to why you are sharing your food with me." Natsu said honestly, and Gray was taken aback.

"I don't exactly dislike you; I just think your hair is stupid, your eyes are too squinty, and that you're an idiot." Gray said without hesitation. He didn't really care if he hurt the other's feelings.

Natsu's eye twitched in annoyance. "God you're a loud mouth, aren't you? Besides, how can you say I'm an idiot? You don't even know me."

"It's just my assumptions from what I've seen from you so far." Gray smirked. Natsu rolled his eyes and finished eating the fruit in his hand.

Lucy and Erza, having just watched the entire interaction, smirked at each other. "I have a feeling they will be good friends." Erza whispered slyly behind her hand to Lucy, who nodded in agreement.

"It's so interesting, because Gray acts like he doesn't care about anything, but look," Lucy motioned to the two guys talking, "he obviously has found something interesting in Natsu."

Erza smiled at the two boys now heatedly arguing about something. "Let's just hope Gray doesn't blow it."

The final bell for the school day rang in the middle of one of Makarov's rants on why the class needs to pay attention more. Throughout the whole day there were constant whispers due to the fact that there was a new kid. "Alright, come back tomorrow more focused." He concluded, allowing the students to pack up and head home. Natsu, not having brought anything that day, simply stood up and began walking towards the door.

"Wait up moron." Gray quickly shoved his items into his backpack and jogged after Natsu, who had paused by the door. "How are you getting home?"

Natsu shrugged. "Walking, I guess."

"Where is your apartment?" Gray was skeptical, doubting that Natsu had a car.

"Pretty far."

"Well than how did you get here in the morning?"

"I took a bus, but don't have any money left for that. I only brought enough for one bus ride." He said sheepishly, and Gray groaned in annoyance.

"You know, you're a mess." He said honestly, and Natsu laughed. It was the first time Gray had seen Natsu actually outright laugh, and it caused Gray to join in and begin laughing too. "Whatever. I will give you a ride home." He spoke as both their laughter died down.

Natsu looked shocked. "Really?" Gray shrugged noncommittally and walked out the door in front of Natsu, and they both began walking to where Gray parked his car. The walk there was silent, but comfortable for both guys. Natsu took the time to look around the school and try to memorize the layout.

Once outside in the cool spring breeze, Gray spotted his car in the parking lot and walked Natsu to it. Once they stood on either side of the car doors, Gray became serious once again. "I swear to god, if you and your moronic brain damage my car at all, I will beat you to a pulp."

"Like you could beat _me._" Natsu hissed. "Besides, unbeknownst to you, I am actually capable to going through daily life functions without screwing things up."

"Yeah right." Gray muttered before unlocking the doors to his nice BMW which was bought for him by his sister and her rich boyfriend and watching as Natsu carefully opened the door and slid into the seat. Gray did the same and started up the car.

Natsu groaned. "As much as I am going to hate complimenting you, this is a nice frickin' car." He ran his hand lightly over the night black dash board and whistled.

"Isn't it?" Gray responded cockily before pulling out of the school and, with the help of Natsu's directions every once in a while, he made it to a small apartment complex that was located very near Gray's own house. During the ride there was little talk, but it just seemed comfortable. Natsu opened the door and got out, and was shocked when Gray too stepped out.

Natsu cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I have nothing planned today, so I am going to see your apartment." Gray said simply, and shut the car door.

"Huh!?"

"You heard me. Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"

Natsu slammed the door shut harder than necessary and shot Gray a glare. "Where are you getting this notion that I'm an idiot from? I barely even _know_ you."

"As I already said, it's just my assumption. Now come on, let's go." Gray brushed past Natsu and walked in the building, smirking when he heard the obviously annoyed footsteps of Natsu following him. Honestly, Gray had never really taken an interest in many people, even girls who he would date he didn't really care for. But Natsu seemed different. A good different, a different that was drawing Gray towards him with every word that came out of the feisty pink haired's mouth.

As Natsu fumed next to him in the elevator on the way to the apartment, Gray found himself wanting to know more about him. Where he is from, why he is alone, stuff like that. There was just something about the boy that drew Gray towards him, and Gray finally knew why he wanted them to know each other better; it was because he actually might sort of want to be friends with him.

** I know the first chapter is really short and I am sorry, but I will probably add another one which will be longer sometime soon. Anyways, please follow/favorite this story and leave a review, because I absolutely LOVE reading your guys' reviews and appreciate every one of them. Thank you so much for reading!**


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